By Jake Tiernan: Conor Benn will return to the ring on December twenty third for a possible combat in opposition to middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. on DAZN PPV at a still-to-be-determined venue.
In a trial run for the Eubank Jr. combat final Saturday evening, Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) beat Rodolfo Orozco (32-4-3, 24 KOs) by a ten spherical unanimous choice in Orlando, Floria.
If not for the 24-year-old Orozco slowing down the frantic tempo that he set within the first 5 rounds, Benn might have misplaced, and Eddie Hearn could be getting lambasted by the followers.
Hearn possible figured it was okay to match Benn in opposition to Orozco, as it is a second-tier fighter who had been overwhelmed by journeyman Jose Quintero Velarde (22-33-3,9 KOs) in 2018. What Hearn didn’t bear in mind was these components:
Benn’s 17-month layoff
Conor’s energy not carrying to 154
Orozco’s motivation: This was his Tremendous Bowl
The sturdy chin of Orozco
Benn received the victory by the scores 99-91, 99-91, and 96-94, however the combat confirmed that he might be too small & weak to defeat Eubank Jr. in December.
Regardless of the end result of the Eubank Jr-Benn combat, Conor wants to maneuver again all the way down to 147 as a result of he’s not large or highly effective sufficient to compete with high quality opposition at 154 or 160. It doesn’t matter if Benn is energetic in his profession.
He’s not sufficiently big to beat prime 154-pounders like Tim Tszyu & Jose Ramos. Placing Benn in with a top-flight 160-pounder like Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Eubank Jr. isn’t top-level. He’s simply an growing older domestic-level fighter who beat a shot, injured & outdated Liam Smith. That’s his declare to fame.
Nigel Benn: “I’m glad you had a combat like that,” Nigel mentioned to iFL TV Final Saturday evening.
Conor Benn: “I wager you have been sitting there laughing. ‘I do know what this combat goes to be.’”
Nigel: “No. He was robust, no matter what anyone [says]. That was your hardest thus far.”
Conor: “No, it wasn’t.”
Nigel: “I’ve by no means seen a man take that many punches and hold strolling.”
Conor: “It wasn’t the toughest.”
Nigel: “Who was it? Peynaud.”
Conor: “I used to be a child again then. What was I, 19?”
Nigel: “Have a look at you now, mate. You carried out actually good.”
Conor: “I’m simply excited to be again. I’m so relieved.”
Eddie Hearn: “You wanted that unhealthy. One of the best factor about that was he was a giant mild middleweight [Orozco]. If you happen to’re going to combat Eubank, size-wise, that was good as a result of he was actually a middleweight. I don’t suppose Eubank can take these photographs.
“Liam Smith cleaned him out, and people photographs there have been completely brutal. He wanted that. All of the stuff, ”l’ll go straight into a giant combat.’ Whenever you’re about to undergo what he went via, you want that unhealthy.
“Look, he’s not world elite-level, Orozco, however he’s Mexican. It was most likely a foul choice. He was robust to combat, however we wished a correct combat.
“The entire level of the train was to get rounds. That was most likely two or three rounds too many, and he [Benn] simply likes to have a conflict on a regular basis. It’s thrilling.
“He regarded actually sharp. He received slightly drained towards the top as a result of it was a extremely hectic tempo, nevertheless it was strong rounds as soon as he awakened and had a few weeks off. December twenty third proposed date. 13 weeks or fourteen weeks.
“Two weeks off to relaxation his physique. He received’t relaxation a lot after which return to camp to prepare. Don’t neglect all of the stress this week. You guys have been asking questions, the media asking questions, interrogating him in regards to the board, accusing him of this. Not you, generally. It’s unbelievably draining.
“You noticed that he was drained after six or seven rounds. It was a quick tempo. I’m going to Orozco’s altering room and signal him,” mentioned Hearn.
